Elizabeth Petofi raises a question regarding the possible effect of the
water on honey in the hive, and fears that the honey may turn into mead.

I would be of the opinion that there is nothing to worry about here,since
water is found abundantly in a hive for temperature control, for use by the
bees and as a by product of ripening nectar. I would imagine that the little
extra introduced by using a fine spray on the bees will not materially alter
this, and the bees are well used to maintaining the water balance in the
hive anyway.

I hope that Elizabeth will try using water (perhaps containing a small
amount of sugar), and that she has good results from it.

I should like to thank those who replied to my post.

The consensus seems to be to use both water and smoke, and lean towards the
water where possible.

Sincerely

Tom Barrett
49 South Park, Foxrock
Dublin 18
Ireland
Tel + 353 1 289 5269
Fax + 353 1 289 9940